Jun Misugi
Jun Misugi is a major character in Captain Tsubasa, and he is one of Japan's pivotal players. It was once said that if it wasn't for the heart disease that hampered his early career, Misugi would have become the best Japanese player of his generation, even better than Tsubasa. Profile Misugi is strong-willed and dedicated besides being kind and clever; he has a keen perception that enables him to read the opposing team’s formation and tactics even when he is not playing on the field; not to mention his ability on how to control his opponent's movements. ''Captain Tsubasa'' arc Misugi was first presented as the very talented star of Musashi middle school, but he had a heart disease, preventing him from playing a full match without endangering his life. However, he decided to play full time in the middle school tournament's semifinal against Nankatsu, eager to give it his all against Tsubasa. His performance was stellar (although it almost brought him to the point of collapse), although in the end his team lost 5-4. Despite his loss, Misugi was happy to have fought Tsubasa with all of himself, and he thanked Yayoi for her precious advices during the game and decided not to give up on soccer, even if his heart condition stood in his way. Misugi fought against his heart disease in rehabilitation with Yayoi for 2 years, and came back on the field for his last year of middle school (although he was still limited to playing for 30 minutes of a match), with the two of them eventually becoming close and beginning to date each other. Misugi wanted to have a rematch against Tsubasa again in the national tournament, however, he lost in the finals of the Tokyo prefecture tournament against Toho and Hyuga, and again being crippled by his illness; he expressed frustration at not being able to play and improve his skills like everyone else during these years. He was still offered a position of assistant coach in the All Japan Jr. Youth team, which he accepted, and his keen tactical sense was a precious addition to the team (for example, it was Misugi's idea to try to have Matsuyama play as a defender). He was also registered as a player in the International Jr. Youth tournament where he would serve well as a super substitute in the matches against Argentina and France. His heart condition prevented him from playing the final match, but he felt that his heart had become stronger. After the tournament, he decided to keep on playing soccer while studying medicine like the Brazilian player Sócrates. ''World Youth'' arc Misugi spent the next three years of High school without playing, only giving tactical advices to the All Japan Youth team for a friendly match against Holland Youth; this allowed him to fully recover from his heart disease, and he successfully took a selection test to be part of the All Japan Youth team. Having played like a midfielder before (inspired by the Dutch player Cruyff), given that there were many other talented players for that area of the field, he took the decision to play as a libero (like the Italian player Baresi). Enduring the harsh training of Gamo despite many years of inactivity, he perfected his comeback with a decisive equalizing goal against Thailand. During the second round of the Asian preliminaries, he was considered, with Matsuyama, as a reliable wall by Wakabayashi. His genius soccer sense allowed him to be the only one to understand and support Tsubasa in his Sky Dive Shoot against Mexico. ''Road to 2002'' arc Prior to Road to 2002, Misugi joined Bellmare Hiratsuka, but later transfered to FC Tokyo, a J-League division 1 club. An all-round player, he was used by the team as a right midfielder. In a match against Consadole Sapporo led by Matsuyama, which ended in a tie, Misugi expressed his admiration at Matsuyama's shooting power, and the two renewed their friendly rivalry. ''Golden 23'' arc In Golden 23, he was selected in the Japanese Olympic team. Coach Kira put a lot of trust in Misugi as well as Misaki and Matsuyama (the "three Ms", as was called the ensemble), entrusting the team's balance to them in the Asian preliminaries. He believed that Misugi's calm discernment would be an important in Japan's qualification to the last round of the Asian preliminaries, belief vindicated by his performance. Special Techniques *'Drive Shoot' **'Flying Drive Shoot' *'Overhead Kick' *'Offside Trap' *'Fast Break' Games exclusive *'Hyper Overhead' (Captain Tsubasa 2 , 3 and 4) *'Moon Slider' (Captain Tsubasa 4) *'Diving Overhead' (Captain Tsubasa 5) *'High Speed Pass' (Gekito no Kiseki) *'Speed Intercept' (Gekito no Kiseki) *'Glass Heart Shoot' (Gekito no Kiseki) Trivia *He is named Andy Johnson is the Latin-American dub and Julian Ross in the European dub. *Like Pierre and Schester, Misugi is quite popular with the female spectators. Image misugi.jpg|In Japan Jr. misugi01.jpg|In Japan Jr. Category:Players of Japan Category:Characters introduced in the Shogakusei Saga Category:Defenders Category:Midfielders Category:Forwards Category:Coaches